Do you know: I have a different surname: Wang, uncle Minglan.

Chapter 317: The Eight Tigers of Daizhou, Like Wolves and Tigers

In the eighth year of Jiayou, early May.

It has been ten days since Wei Yuan launched a general attack on Xiangzhou, but there has been no progress.

The number of casualties on both sides has reached about 80,000, and the Zhou army accounts for at least 70%.

This method of siege, in which one thousand enemies were killed but twelve thousand of one's own men were injured, did not seem like something that could be done by Wei Yuan at all.

In fact, Wei Yuan had only participated in city defense battles and had never fought a serious siege.

Over the past ten days, Wei Yuan has been accumulating practical experience while exploring some of the advantages of attacking Xiangzhou City.

Except for some special reasons.

A general siege campaign, especially an attack on a large city like Xiangzhou, would last at least half a year, or as long as three to five years, or even longer, if the strength of both sides was relatively balanced.

Obviously, Wei Yuan did not want to fight for that long. There would be too many variables in three to five years, and neither he nor the court could afford the risk.

Now, in the Zhou army tent.

After Ye Bu Shou's investigation, Shen Qing got the latest intelligence information.

"Yelü Xinxian led an army of more than 200,000 and has passed the Maling Pass. According to their marching speed, they will reach Neihuang in three days at most."

Neihuang is located southeast of Yong'an City, only two or three hundred miles away from Xiangzhou.

Wei Yuan stood in front of the sand table and said thoughtfully, "That is to say, including the troops under Yelu Xinxian's command, the Liao army now has only 400,000 at most?"

At the beginning, the Liao army had more than 600,000 troops marching south, but in less than a year, they had lost 200,000 troops.

The casualties on the Zhou army's side were even more severe, at least around 300,000 or 400,000.

"That's right. As long as we can defeat one of the armies of Yelu Xinxian or Yelu Renxian, our army can take advantage of the situation to recover all lost territory and drive the Liao army out of our Great Zhou."

Shen Qing said slowly, "Besides this, there is one more thing. Xixia has sent 200,000 more troops to Yanbian. Generals such as Zhong Yan have asked the court for help. I believe that the government will issue an order soon."

Wei Yuan shook his head and said, "There are no more soldiers to send."

Now, apart from the troops stationed in various cities, the 600,000 troops under Wei Yuan’s command would find it a bit difficult to capture Xiangzhou, let alone support Yanbian?

To be honest, if the Zhou army fought with the idea of ​​losing land but saving people, then an army of 600,000 would be enough to conquer the world.

But this is not the case.

Every time Wei Yuan recaptured a town, he would send troops to garrison there, so that the military forces were dispersed.

This approach is also intended to cut off all of the Liao army's retreat routes.

If we did the same as them, saving lives and losing territory, and kept chasing the main force of the Liao army, the final result would be that we would be led by the nose by the Liao army of only 400,000 soldiers.

If the existing Liao army could be eliminated in the Central Plains, Wei Yuan would be confident enough to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun in one fell swoop.

After all, the Liao Kingdom was sparsely populated, and the fact that they could send 600,000 troops to the south was almost mobilizing the entire country.

"The commander of the Xixia army this time is Li Liangzuo, he is your old rival, General Wei."

"If Yanbian is lost, the Xixia army will advance eastward and encircle our army together with the Liao army. I am afraid that our army will be imprisoned."

Xiao Yuming said worriedly.

Chen Daniu said carelessly: "General Wei, give me 200,000 soldiers. If they really dare to come, I will make sure they never return!"

Why 200,000 soldiers?

Because he saw Lin Zhaoyuan leading 200,000 soldiers, he felt indignant and also wanted to lead 200,000 soldiers.

At this moment, a voice suddenly rang out from outside the tent, "Brother Chen is still as domineering as ever. With only 200,000 soldiers, he dares to challenge the entire Xixia army alone!"

After saying that, everyone saw a man coming.

When Chen Daniu and the others saw the newcomers, they were immediately delighted and their faces were filled with excitement.
"Brother Liang, why are you here?"

"Brother Liang, I thought you would come to Zhaoyuan's wedding last time, but something went wrong in Daizhou, so I couldn't get drunk with you. It's a pity!"

"Brother Liang, I haven't seen you for many years. You have become stronger and stronger!"

"."

The visitor was Liang Da, who had been guarding Daizhou for many years. He was also one of the Eight Tigers of Daizhou and ranked seventh.

Among the Eight Tigers of Daizhou, the second brother Xu Changzhi is like the Black Tortoise and Snake. He is the most prudent person. No matter the ways of the world or all aspects of his behavior, he is extremely detailed and good at understanding people's hearts.

Among the Eight Tigers of Daizhou, whoever is best at defending a city must be Xu Changzhi. He can turn a city gate that is easy to attack but difficult to defend into an impregnable fortress.

He was often laughed at by the Liao army as an old turtle who only knew how to shrink into his shell and dared not fight openly. But if he were given an opportunity, this turtle would instantly turn into a poisonous snake and bite the enemy's most deadly part.

The third brother, Guo Hao, is like a wolf. He looks very honest and harmless, but he is actually very ambitious. He loves to cultivate his own people. He is loyal and righteous to his opponents or people around him, but he behaves in a rather arrogant and domineering manner.

The fourth brother, Shen Qing, looks ordinary on the surface, but he is actually full of evil intentions and his methods are the most vicious. During the Battle of Daizhou, he had advised Wei Yuan more than once to implement the "extermination plan" against the nomadic peoples near Yanmen Pass.

Wei Yuan said that he was a man of great potential, but his methods were shady and unpresentable, just like a fox. The fifth brother, Xiao Yuming, was a serious Confucian general, with no shortcomings, but also no outstanding points. He was said to be mediocre in martial arts, but he was also a first-class general. He was said to be unable to lead and train troops, but the soldiers under his command were the most disciplined, just like goats.

The sixth one, Chen Daniu, is a tiger general.

The seventh brother, Lin Zhaoyuan, has a single-minded mind, great potential, and is a loyal dog.

The Eighth Elder, Xie Wu, had many deficiencies in his ability to lead troops compared to the Eight Tigers of Daizhou, but he was very clear about his own shortcomings, so he was extremely cautious during marches and battles, and would rather not make any achievements than make any mistakes. Being able to do this may seem simple, but it is actually the most difficult thing.

Moreover, they have grasped the essence of Wei Yuan's guerrilla warfare. They are like a mouse, firing a shot, and running away when encountering danger, hiding in the deep mountains and forests, making the enemy extremely annoyed.

The ninth brother, Liang Da, has no close friends except for his good relations with the old brothers in Daizhou. He is a bit eccentric and is best at lying in wait. When marching and fighting, he insists on hitting the target with one strike and never fights a battle without confidence. He is also not like the eighth brother, Xie Wu, who fires a shot, harasses the enemy and then runs away. He disdains those petty gains.

For him, once he makes a move, he must get the meat.

Wei Yuan said that he was like a leopard. Once he attacked, he had to hold the prey in his mouth, which could be used as a killing move.

It is also because Wei Yuan said that Liang Da can be used as a trump card, a killer move or a backup plan.

Therefore, among the Eight Tigers of Daizhou, no one dared to underestimate Liang Da.

At this time, Wei Yuan smiled and explained to everyone: "Some time ago, I transferred 100,000 soldiers from Daizhou to attack Wu'an. As for the commander-in-chief, he was called Jiang Xun, but in fact it was Liang Da."

"After Wu'an was recaptured, I asked him to arrange for the defense of the city and asked him to come immediately. Now the timing is just right."

Jiang Xunna was one of Liang Da's trusted generals.

If Liang Daruo becomes a duke someday in the future, then Jiang Xun can at least become a baron.

Interestingly, during the Battle of Daizhou, the general named Jiang Xun practiced martial arts with Wei Yuan for a few days.

Wei Yuan can be considered half of Jiang Xun's teacher.

However, it was common for comrades in the army to exchange martial arts, and Wei Yuan had no intention of taking in a disciple, so after Jiang Xun learned a few moves, he let him follow Liang Da.

"I know you must be confused as to why I ordered Liang Da to come here, but I am not in a hurry to tell you about this."

Having said that, Wei Yuan looked at Liang Da again, patted him on the shoulder, and said earnestly:

"I haven't seen you for a few years. You have indeed grown stronger. Come, tell me about the situation in Daizhou."

Liang Da, before he established the Lawsuit Association in Wei Yuan, was often bullied by a group of veterans including Xie Wu.

Later, the lawsuit was filed, Wei Yuan personally supported him and severely reprimanded Xie Wu and others. After that, Liang Da followed Wei Yuan wholeheartedly.

Liang Da bowed to Wei Yuan and said, "Yes."

After that, he looked at everyone and slowly said, "Since the Liao army moved south, important towns such as Yanmen and Tanglin have been attacked fiercely by the Liao army."

"The army responsible for attacking Daizhou was originally the Liao army, but later, for some reason, it was replaced by the Jurchens."

"The Jurchen leader Wanyan Agunay was even better than Yelu Yixian in terms of military tactics, and the two often had conflicts over sieges."

"."

Everyone listened to Liang Da talk a lot about the situation in Daizhou. To sum it up, in one sentence, everything is fine for the time being.

Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but feel relieved.

Daizhou is their base camp.

No one wants to see anything happen in Daizhou.

However, with the enemy generals suspicious of each other, General Qin Lie, who was in command of a large army, was still unable to defeat the Liao army?

To put it bluntly, isn't this too useless?

Chen Daniu said dissatisfiedly: "Then Mr. Qin is not as good as me in commanding troops!"

Xiao Yuming joked, "Mr. Qin will be your father-in-law in the future! How can a son-in-law talk about his father-in-law like this?"

Chen Daniu chuckled, "You haven't become my father-in-law yet."

Liang Da asked curiously, "Brother Chen is going to marry a girl from the Qin family?"

Chen Daniu said, "I'll tell you about this slowly when I have the chance. Now I have the eight characters, only one stroke is missing."

Xiao Yuming frowned and said, "Brother Yuanzhi, you should read more books when you have time."

At this time, when he heard the news that Chen Daniu was going to marry the daughter of the Qin family, he said with a worried look on his face:
"In fact, since General Qin came to Daizhou, I have rarely seen him."

"Some generals in the army speculated that General Qin might be seriously ill."

"Although the Qin family is a duke, their ancestors and grandchildren have made no contributions to the country. If General Qin is really seriously ill, he may not inform the court and want to use this opportunity to restore the Qin family to its former glory."

"but"

Having said that, he looked at Chen Daniu with a heavy tone, "This is, after all, a crime of deceiving the emperor."

(End of this chapter)